


Baking Club

by NightshadeDawn



Series: That happened... [37]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Baking, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 11:30:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14448369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightshadeDawn/pseuds/NightshadeDawn
Summary: The swimming passion's still there, but the baking's just stronger. So, what do they do? Start a club, obviously.





	Baking Club

**Author's Note:**

> Based off the prompt: "I have fifty boxes of cake mix, we need to start making cakes ASAP, where are you?" "I think you have the wrong number, but count me in anyway. It sounds like fun!"
> 
> And it's really not as great as I wanted it to be.

        Ever since he’d been young, Haru had only ever really been good at two things: swimming and cooking. There’d been a time when he only ever loved swimming. He didn’t really like doing anything else.

        But then there was Makoto. And he liked Makoto too. So when Makoto stopped swimming because he was scared of water, Haru split his time. 

        When they were eight years old, Haru made cupcakes for Makoto on his birthday. And the smile on Makoto’s face was the best thing the young Haru had ever seen.

        He began baking more. Mostly cakes, but he was good at other things as well. When he asked to be taken out of the swimming club and put into a class for young bakers, Makoto joined as well.

        They met Rin and Nagisa there. Nagisa had a sweet tooth and liked all things sugary, but he was best as making detailed little candies. Rin was just good. Really, you wouldn’t have thought that he was only ten years old.

        A competition for junior bakers from all over Iwatobi came to pass, and Rin convinced Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa to work on a team together before he went off to France to join a cooking school he’d gotten a scholarship to.

        Rin and Haru worked together to make the tier and cupcakes while Makoto decorated them as they got done. Nagisa topped them with his beautiful little candies to finish it off.

        They took home first place. 

        But then Rin left and Haru and Makoto went into middle school, and the group, save for Haru and Makoto, didn’t see each other again. 

        At least, until high school.

* * *

        “Haru?” Makoto called, stepping into Haru’s house the first day of their second year. He made his way to see Haru standing in the kitchen, working at the oven. With probably about twenty cakes scattered all around the room. “Haru!” he exclaimed. “You’ll never be able to eat all of this!”

        Haru barely gave Makoto a look and Makoto dragged a hand down his face in exasperation. 

        “And we’re going to be late if we don’t leave,” he complained. 

        “Let me finish my breakfast,” Haru said, monotone as always. 

        Makoto sighed and took a resigned seat at the kitchen table. Haru placed a plate of mackerel in front of Makoto and, with another sigh, he began eating with Haru. He was talented with food, that was for sure. He just had the unhealthy habit of only eating cake and mackerel- thankfully generally not at the same time. 

        After sticking the dishes in the dishwasher and putting a couple cakes in boxes for each to carry, the two went on their way. Following them arriving at school, they delivered the cakes to the teacher’s lounge, all of the teachers essatic to have the treat.

        Lunch time rolled around, as if always did, and the two headed up to the roof. 

        “I didn’t bring my lunch.”

        “You made all of that this morning but didn’t bring lunch?” Makoto shook his head in exasperation. “Go get something from the cafeteria. Or we can share mine.” He smiled and held up his bento.

        “Haru-chan! Mako-chan!” The two turned to see a blond boy at the bottom of the stairs. “It’s been a long time! Guess who finally made it?”

        Makoto and Haru looked at each other before looking back to the boy. “Nagisa?!”

        Nagisa grinned up at them. 

        “Long time no see!”

* * *

        “We wanna start a baking club!” Nagisa exclaimed. Ms. Amakata looked between the three boys and Kou while chewing on her lip.

        “There’s… already a cooking club, and I’m sure they’d be overjoyed to have you,” she claimed, confused and tilting her head. 

        “We want to have an exclusively baking club!” Nagisa said, while Makoto tried to placate him and get him to stop shouting. “There’s an empty kitchen that’s never in use, so we’d never get in each other’s way!”

        Ms. Amakata looked between them. “Well, four seems like the right amount to start a club,” she said. “And who am I to say no?”

        Nagisa and Kou cheered while Makoto smiled at Haru. He didn’t really smile, but more of a tilt of his mouth for a mere moment. His eyes sparkled, though, and Makoto could tell he was happy.

* * *

        The work to clean up the kitchen and make everything usable again was what took the longest. On top of using their very… limited budget to buy ingredients.

        And then Nagisa coerred a student named Rei into joining their club and leaving the calligraphy club behind. No one was quite sure how he’d done it, nor were they particularly wanting to know. Least of all Haru.

        But the budget was a problem. Without a bigger one, they’d have to, well,  _ not  _ bake. They needed the ingredients, and several of the pots and pans and utensils could do with being replaced.

        Makoto and Kou looked over the expenses and shook their heads. 

        “We could have a bake sale?” Nagisa suggested.

        “While that’s one of the more clever things you’ve ever said,” Rei claimed, pushing his glasses up, “we need the  _ supplies  _ to make what we’d sell, and we need  _ money  _ to get those supplies. You need money to make money, after all.”

        Nagisa pouted while Kou fished around in her bag. 

        “I know you said that you didn’t really want to go into any competitions, Haru, but you might be our only hope,” she claimed, holding out the flyer. “It’s in a few weeks, but if we don’t get our name out there and respected, we won’t be able to get a bigger budget.”

        Haru looked down at the flyer and Makoto did as well over his shoulder. He smiled. “There’s an event we could all take part in individually,” he explained. 

        Nagisa looked over Haru’s other shoulder, a grin breaking out on his features. “There’s even an event like when we were kids, Haru-chan!” he exclaimed. “I wanna work with you again!”

        “We work together everyday,” Haru deadpanned. 

        Nagisa pouted. “You know what I mean.”

        “This might just work, if we can win,” Rei said, looking over it as well. “It’s not a bad idea, Haruka-senpai.”

        Haru sighed, finally giving in. Everyone cheered. And Haru smiled. Just a little.

* * *

        I would talk about the drama with Rin coming back from France and being a moody teenager and not wanting to cook anymore, but joining the competition to go against Haru for some rivalry and all that, but it’s what happened after that’s far more interesting.

        Makoto stood next to Rin while Nagisa dragged Rei and Haru off to the buffet where all the food that had been made was laid out. 

        Makoto grinned a bit at Haru’s  _ Help me _ expression. He tilted his head over to Rin, who was watching the spectacle as well.

        “What was your reason for wanting to beat Haru so badly?” Makoto asked him. 

        Rin tilted his head up at Makoto, grinning with his shark like teeth. “You  _ really  _ don’t know?” he questioned. Makoto gave Rin a confused look and Rin laughed. “Back in elementary school, we got in a fight that began with us competing against each other. He won, but he said he didn’t care about it. He only cared about baking to make you happy. Not just anyone,  _ you _ .”

        Makoto’s jaw dropped and he flushed as he began stuttering. “Wha- No! No, that’s- he’s-”

        “He’s in love with you, you idiot,” Rin claimed. “And he’s been in love with you for years. You two are so  _ dense _ .”

        Makoto almost melted like a pile of cream from the heat in his cheek, but Rin just laughed. Neither one would reveal to the others their conversation, no matter how much Nagisa whined and begged. 

* * *

        Then, of course, there’s the scandal with Rei and Rin. Where Rei would sneak off everyday after school to go practice with Rin, seeing as he wanted to expand his cooking expertise outside of souffle and didn’t really want the others to know.

        He was late already as it was and fumbling with his phone and the bags in his hands. In his rush, Rei did not notice that he’d clicked on the wrong phone number. 

        “Hello?” the voice on the other line said. 

        Rei sighed in relief. “I have fifty boxes of cake mix, we need to start making cakes ASAP; where are you?”

        There was silence for a moment. “I think you got the wrong number, but count me in anyway! I sounds like fun!”

        Rei stopped in his place. “Nagisa-kun?!” he exclaimed. 

        Nagisa giggled on the other line. “So, am I coming to your place or are you coming to mine?”

* * *

        The club was at Haru’s house. Haru was in the kitchen while Makoto leaned against the doorframe and Rei, Nagisa, and Kou sat in the living room.

        “What’s all this about, Haru-chan?” Nagisa asked. 

        Haru didn’t answer for several minutes, too preoccupied on setting the strawberries just right on the cake. 

        “My cousin wrote me and invited the club to go train with him over break,” Haru explained. “He sent seven tickets.”

        Makoto’s eyes widened. “Wait, we’re going to see  _ him _ ?” he said, his jaw dropping.

        “There’s only five of us,” Kou said, tapping her chin. “Who else will we take?”

        “Rin-senpai, obviously,” Rei said. “He’s as much a part of this… little group of ours as anyone else, isn’t he?”

        “Of course,” Makoto said. “But that leaves one ticket still.”

        “Let Rin decide the last,” Haru monotoned. 

        Nagisa looked between all of the club members before letting out a shriek and slamming his hands down on the table. “Is everyone just going to ignore the most important question?” he asked. “Who’s Haru’s cousin?!”

        Makoto and Haru looked at each other. Makoto rubbed his neck and laughed. “That’s right, you never went with us to  Hasetsu, so you probably don’t know .”

        “I’m rather curious about him as well, now that you mention it,” Rei supplied. 

        “Yeah, you never mentioned a cousin, Haru,” Kou said.

        “His name’s Yuuri Katsuki,” Haru said, not even looking at his club members. “Our mothers were sisters, so that’s why we don’t share a family name,” he continued, as if the others didn’t have looks of astonishment on their features. 

        “ _ What?! _ ”

**Author's Note:**

> Look for coming parts!


End file.
